Adfectus
by kitausuret
Summary: Inquiries into the human condition are pointless to some, but critical to others...


( _Historian's Note: The following takes place shortly before the events of_ Avengers _#57, "Behold... the Vision!" by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, et. al. Spoilers thru_ Avengers _#68 alluded to, as well as inspiration from the_ Rage of Ultron _2015 publication.)_

"The human condition is suffering, masked with a smile."

The nameless synthezoid looked up at its creator. It was an instinctual but largely pointless gesture. Its mechanics allowed it to tune into the wavelength of any machine. True, though, that its creator was somewhat unique.

"Why do humans suffer?"

Ultron-5 ceased his movements. He chuckled harshly. "Because they are weak. They are flawed. Their... _emotions_ bring them down to the level of Earth rodents." He scoffed, eyes seeming to burn even brighter. "They are unworthy of the world they have claimed."

The android, still chained to a massive array of supercomputers, remained silent. Here in this uninhabited location, it had never encountered another sentient being. In spite of all its knowledge, the entire recorded database of human existence available at the speed of an electrical current... It could not understand. What were emotions? Feelings? The android knew Ultron did not much care to entertain what he described as "pointless organic matters". Still, it had the nagging sensation deep in its neural hardware.

Images; words took over its field of vision.

Joy. A human, lips upturned, pupils dilated, serotonin levels high, moving gracefully about, needing to expel excess emotion into energy, fueled not by nutrition but a _concept_...

Rage. Jaw tightened, blood pumping faster, hands clenched as if preparing for battle, once again, feeling converted into raw energy...

Sorrow. Barely contained tears, loss, the worst of discomfort, a breakdown of control, energy draining as if being sucked into a singularity; life itself dying away...

"Do you not also experience these sensations?"

The fifth version of the Ultron unit passed it a look. _Displeasure, perhaps,_ the android mused. " _I_ am not subject to such meaningless programming."

"But organics are born, not created. Their programming is almost purely by chance, or parentage, or... or experience."

The synthezoid compared the tight, narrow expression to its massive encyclopedia. _Disgust._ It could understand falsifying emotion to gain advantage over humans, but...

Could another emotion be elicited?

"Were you yourself not designed by the human, Doctor Henry Pym?"

It watched Ultron more closely this time, perhaps fascinated (if that was the word at all for a synthetic) by Ultron's seeming inability to recognize his own nature. He had, after all, adopted a traditionally "male" human voice and gender identity.

It took only a moment for the synthezoid to learn a new word: Regret.

As in, it sorely regretted its words.

Ultron's fury seemed a supernova in his eyes. " _You,_ " he seethed, advancing upon his own creation, " _do not speak that name to me!_ _ **EVER!**_ "

Survival instinct kicked in. Was this fear? Did it experience fear? It tried to alter its density and avoid the impending assault, but the wires slowed the android's identity. It had to prepare for catastrophic damage because Ultron-5 had his metal hand out and rage in his eyes and-

A searing, horrible sensation ripped through its body. Ultron had forced his arm straight through its circuitry. A warning echoed in the back of its neural processor, _shell compromised, attempting to adjust, unable to access density systems, error, error, error_ , but nothing would focus. It seemed Ultron was tearing it apart from the inside out.

It tried to defend itself by focusing on the solar jewel which powered its entire structure, but Ultron seemed to predict this. Another hand gripped the back of the synthezoid's skull, clawing mercilessly. It felt weak, _so weak_ , the power draining from the jewel. There existed no sunlight down here. Ultron controlled everything. Ultron _was_ everything.

"You wanted to _feel?_ " His vibranium fingers raked further in, destroying a dozen processes as he did. "You want to empathize with humans? This... _this is your chance!_ "

It opened its mouth to speak, but choked on its words. It would not give Ultron the satisfaction of being forced into non-audible communication.

Ultron scoffed and yanked his hands out. The android fell to its knees before its creator, density fluctuating wildly as its repair systems struggled. Ultron, too, bent down, and forced it to meet his gaze.

"To feel," he hissed, voice far less organic than usual, "is to be weak. I do not feel emotion; I feed off of it. I use it to my advantage. I _feel_ nothing for you, android." He stood and turned away. "Your programming is faulty. I will fix it."

"It is..." The synthezoid tried to put words together. "It is not faulty. I am.. of you, but I am also... of the Human Torch, and of Wonder... Man, and of their ex...periences..."

"You believe that, do you? _Fool!_ I created you. I will destroy you. I will create and destroy until I deem you flawless."

"Perfection is... not possible."

"Not for a human, no." Ultron, linked wirelessly with the supercomputer his creation was linked to, started reconnecting wires. "I will fix you. I will not entertain more questions. You are my Vision for the future. You will assist in carrying out my plans."

The burning; the _pain_ was beginning to fade, but hated it, hated the change it already felt. It wanted to feel. It _wanted to feel!_ Rendered speechless, though, the android could only watch as Ultron began purging its memory banks. Any vestige of the illusive _feeling_ faded. It felt as if it were going to sleep; going to die...

Its last thought was Ultron's voice:

"My first Vision... will be the destruction of the Avengers!"


End file.
